Car coupler



June 12, 1928.

A. J. BAZELEY CAR COUPLER Original Filed July '7, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jg/aqlfinzaqr BY ATTORNE June 12, 1928. 1,672,875

A. J. BAZELEY cAia COUPLER Original Filed July 7, 1925- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR lemme J. 50251;

Patented June 12, 192 8.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.- I

ARTHUR J. BAZELEY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL IALLEABLE AND STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CAR COUPLER.

Application-filed July 7, 1925, Serial No. 41,968. Renewed November II, 1927.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lock and thrower embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the lock indicating the surface which has a bearing on the thrower; and Fig. 3 is a partial section on line TIL-III of Fig. 1, indicating the thrower in plan and the engagement, diagrammatically, of the thrower by the lock leg during the knuckle opening movement.

My invention relates to car couplers and in particular to the A. R. A. standard D- coupler, in which there is frequent difliculty in knuckle throwing because the leverage applied by the lock to the knuckle throwing arm is not arranged for the most effective application of force. My invention, which in its application to the D-coupler involves a redesign of the lock and thrower, eliminates this difliculty of operation by providing much mole favorable leverages than are now obtained in the D-coupler, with the result that the knuckle may be thrown without undue effort. My invention also comprises various features which if shall hereinafter describe and claim.

Referring to the drawings, the coupler head A contains the usual knuckle B .and lifter C. The lock D and opener E alone are of altered construction. The top of the lock is cut down toward the rear side of the head, the dotted lines indicating the present shape of the D-cou'pler lock, to ive room for an added lift to the lock an aconsequent greater rotation about the fulcrum point 2, and a greater rearward movement of the leg' 3 of the lock, with a. consequent greater impulse to the knuckle thrower. In the D-coupler the rear side of the lock leg at the beginning of the knuckle throwing movement has practically a. horizontal line bearing against the short arm of the knuckle thrower. In the present construction the face 4 of the arm 5 of the thrower, beginning at its point 6 furthest away from the pivot 7, is tapered away from the rear face 8 of the lock leg so as to ensure the engagement of the arm 5 of the thrower by the lock face 8 as far away from the pivot 7 as possible, and thereby increases the leverage of the look upon the thrower to the maximum ex tent. The lock face 8 is cut away at 10 so as to prevent contact between that portion of the lock and the arm 5 of the thrower, as such contact would during the latter part of the throwing decrease the effective length of the lever arm 6-7, and thus diminish the impulse transmitted to the thrower. As is shown in Fig. 3, at the beginning of the throwing operation the surface 8 is in contact withthe thrower arm at the point a. As the operation pro ceeds the locus of the point of contact is shown by the dotted lines a, b, c, the effective length of the short arm of the thrower at any point being the distance, perpendicular with respect to the direction of motion of the lock leg, between the contact point and the axis of the thrower trunnion 7. In F ig.- 2the line a, b, 0 indicates the movement of the locus of the point of contact of the knuckle thrower on the lock during the knuckle throwing movement. The center line 7 through the knuckle thrower is also shown in projection in Fig. 2, to indicate the effective length of the lever arm.

As the locus of the point of contact approaches at c the edge of the surface 8, as is shown in Fig. 2, this surface has been built downwardly as at 11 to provide a suflicient overlap to prevent disengagement between the surface 8 and the arm 5 of the thrower during the knuckle opening movement.

It will thus be seen that the variation in length of the lever arm between the point of contact with the lock and the axis of the thrower is reduced to a minimum, and

proximately 22% less effort was required to throw. the knuckle,

Obviously, my invention is annlicable to either the top or bottom operated form of the D-coupler.

The terms and expressions which I have if employed are used as terms 'of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expres sions, of excluding any mechanical equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various structural modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a coupler of the standard D-type, a lock; a two-armed knuckle thrower plvoted in the coupler head, the lock having a rear surface arranged to engagea face on one arm of the thrower in knuckle opening, the said lock surface and said arm face being an ularly disposed with reference to each ot er at the beginning of the knuckle opening movement to prevent excessive shortening of the effective length of the thrower arm during such movement.

2. In a coupler of the standard D-type, a lock; a two-armed knuckle thrower plvoted in the coupler head, the lock having a rear face arranged to engage one of the arms of the thrower, the said face being recessed to limit the lateral extent of its engagement with said arm.

3. In a coupler of the standard D-type, a lock; a two-armed knuckle thrower pivoted in the coupler head, the lock having a rear surface arranged to engage a face on one of the arms of the thrower, the lock surface being recessed to limit the extent of its lateral engagement with said arm, the face of the said arm being arran ed to cause the arm to en age the lock sur ace at the furthest possi le distance from said pivot.

4. In a coupler of the standard D-type, a lock; a two-armed knuckle thrower plvoted in the coupler head, the lock having a rear surface arranged to engage a face on one of the arms of the thrower, the arm face being arranged to engage the lock surface at the furthest possible distance from said pivot; and means for limitin the shortening of the effective length of sald thrower arm duringthe knuckle throwing movement.

ARTHUR J. BAZELEY. 

